


Sunburnt

by Paint_splatt



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Early Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, angst with fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:02:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24975031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paint_splatt/pseuds/Paint_splatt
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple mission. Will was never supposed to get hurt. And Nico has absolutely no idea how to handle it.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Will Solace, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 5
Kudos: 168





	Sunburnt

**Author's Note:**

> This was a collab with the lovely artist @metaljupiter ! 
> 
> Check out their Instagram for the ART

It was supposed to be a simple mission. 

Chiron had sent Nico and Will to track down a griffin that had been causing trouble for some young demigods that had just made it to camp. They were safe, but Chiron thought it best that a threat that close to camp be taken care of. It was one measly little griffin. They had killed more dangerous monsters than that as a warmup before breakfast. 

They found it fairly quickly, the screeches echoing over the Long Island beach. It appeared to be trying to catch the birds that flicked around the shore. 

“I feel almost bad,” Will said. “He’s just trying to eat.”

“Well a few hours ago, he was trying to eat halfblood,” Nico grumbled, “so I don’t feel bad at all.”

Will shrugged. “Fair point.”

Nico raised his sword and rolled his shoulders. “Alright, I’ll take lead, cover me from here with your bow, okay? This shouldn’t take too long.”

“Wait!” 

Nico paused. “What? What is it?” His eyes rapidly scanned the horizon. “Is there another one?”

“Are you wearing sunscreen?”

Nico turned to look at Will incredulously. “Are you serious right now?”

“As serious as a heart attack.” He rummaged around in his portable medic kit. “You know, sunburns or even overexposure to the sun leads to skin cancer a lot faster than people think, especially when it’s repeated because it weakens the skin’s immune system.” 

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Hey, my dad’s the sun god. And the sun is a deadly laser.” He grinned and pulled a small tube of SPF 30 out of the kit. “At least let me put some on your face.” 

Nico shook his head. “Unbelievable.” But he had a hard time saying no to Will. 

The blonde boy swiped twin smudges of sunscreen on Nico’s cheeks, which were growing hotter by the second (though not exactly from the sun in the sky). Then he rubbed it in over Nico’s nose, forehead, and chin. 

Will swiped his thumb over Nico’s lips and frowned. “You should wear chapstick. You can get an infection—“

Nico swatted his hand away. “Okay, okay, I get it.” His lips were tingling and he could see the mischievous grin on Will’s face. Sure, they were dating now, but it was a new thing, and Nico was still super not used to physical affection. And while Will knew and respected that, he was also a bit of a...tease. 

Nico steadied his breathing and turned back to the griffin. “Let’s just get this over with.” He charged forward and shouted, “hey ugly! Over here!”

Was it the smartest, most tactical way to approach a fight? No. But in his defense, he was distracted. 

The griffin noticed him immediately and shifted its attention away from the birds with an earsplitting shriek. Nico steadied his sword. 

The next few moments were a blur as his battle instincts kicked in. The griffin dove, he rolled, he slashed upwards at it, it rose just out of reach. Nico wasn’t really used to fighting airborne creatures, but the griffin was a large target, which made it easier. 

On the next dive, three arrows sprouted from its neck in quick succession. The griffin cried out, toppling sideways. Nico didn’t have time to dive out of the way before he was knocked to the ground.

He scrambled to his feet, dusting sand off his back and blinking the silver spots out of his eyes from hitting the ground so hard. Just then, he heard Will shout his name, and, disoriented, spun around—too late. 

The griffin was diving, claws outstretched, but right before they tore into his chest, something slammed into Nico’s side and knocked him to the ground. The something was Will, and they rolled in the sand for a moment before stopping. Nico paused for a moment, staring down out the beautiful tanned face he had admired from afar for so long. Then he jolted back into the moment, scrambling off and standing back up, grabbing his sword from where he dropped it in the sand. 

He looked at Will, who still hadn’t stood up. “Are you okay?”

Will waved him off nonchalantly. “I’m good. Just a bit winded. Go finish him off.”

Nico didn’t respond for a moment, his eyes glancing between the wounded boy and the griffin, circling for another attack. 

“I’m GOOD,” Will insisted. 

With that, Nico turned and ran towards the griffin, which was beginning to dive again. He planted his feet, took a breath, and then, just before the talons reached him, he ducked, then jumped up with his arm outstretched, his Stygian sword ripping through the stomach of the beast. With one final screech, it dissipated into dust that blew away with the wind. 

Nico coughed and spit. “I think some of that griffin got into my mouth,” he joked. 

Will didn’t respond. 

Nico frowned. “Will?” He walked over. “What’s going on?”

Will’s face was pale and he laughed uncomfortably. “So, it’s possible that I lied and am, in fact, NOT completely good.” He moved his hand from where it was pressed to his side and Nico nearly threw up. 

Now, Nico di Angelo was no stranger to blood and other gore-related things, but the gash that ran from Will’s side down his back was truly horrific. His hand and orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt were stained with crimson, and the sand below was a sickly brown. What made it terrifying, though, was that it was WILL. Will Solace wasn’t supposed to get hurt, he was the one doing the healing. He wasn’t supposed to bleed from reckless rescue moves, that was Nico’s job. 

“Oh gods,” Nico said, panic seeping into his voice. He fell to his knees and leaned down to look at the wound, his hands moving frantically but too nervous to touch it. “What do I do? Should I clean it? Oh, there’s sand in it, that’s bad, right? Should I clean the sand out? Or leave it in? No, that’s for knives that get stuck in you, right? Should I—“ 

“Nico,” Will interrupted. “Calm down. It’s going to be fine.” He smiled, that warm, beautiful smile that felt like ambrosia. Then he winced and Nico felt cold all over again. “I’ve already contacted camp and they’re sending a team down to get us. I just need you to stabilize me. Can you do that?”

“I-I don’t know,” Nico admitted. 

Will sighed. “Then all is lost. Will you come visit me as a shade?”

Nico’s eyes grew wide, his breath speeding up. 

“That was a joke!” Will said quickly. “A poorly timed one, but a joke. I’m not going to die.” He winced again. “But this does hurt like Acheron, so if you could do exactly as I say, that’s going to help a lot.”

“Okay, okay, yeah, I can do that.” 

“Are you calm.”

“Yes.” He had never been more stressed. 

“Can you get me an ambrosia square from my kit?”

Nico rummaged through the small bag, shifting through what seemed like hundreds of things he had never even seen before, until he found the ambrosia squares in a little plastic bag. He passed them to Will, who took a gracious bite. 

“Alright,” he said, still chewing, “now you need to pour some nectar over the wound.”

Will talked, slowly and calmly, through the entire process. Nico’s hands were shaking as he poured the nectar, especially seeing Will gasp in pain. He helped Will rip a section off the bottom of his orange shirt, which wasn’t too hard given the tears courtesy of the griffin, and tie it around the gash. Then, all they had to do was wait. 

“Tell me something embarrassing,” Will said. 

Nico raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because I’m hurt and you have to do what I say because you pity me.”

“Rude,” Nico mumbled. He thought for a second, then blushed. “Oh gods, I nearly forgot about this.”

“What?”

“Promise not to laugh.”

“I promise.”

“The first time I met Percy Jackson, I asked him if he was good at surfing.”

Will burst into laughter, then immediately winced. “Oh, ow.”

“That’s what you get for laughing after you specifically promised not to,” Nico said, trying to not be too embarrassed by his own confession. 

“Sorry,” Will said, “I didn’t expect it to be that funny. So you’ve always been a disaster gay, then?”

Nico snorted. “Pretty much.”

“Cute,” Will muttered. 

Nico pretended not to hear that. “Your turn.”

“This was not part of the deal,” Will argued.

“Too bad, I want to laugh at you,” Nico replied. 

“Geez, okay.” Will thought for a moment. “Um...I’ve had a crush on you since the Battle for Olympus.”

Nico’s head whipped towards him. “What?”

Will wouldn’t meet his eyes, his cheeks colored pink. “Yeah. I mean, you showed up with an army of skeleton soldiers and the lord of the dead and I was like… whoa. I’m not even sure I realized it was a crush at the time. But yeah.”

Nico took a breath and tentatively wove his fingers through Will’s. “I’m, uh, glad it all worked out.”

Will smiled. “Me too.”

“Can’t say I understand your choice in crushes, but it landed me with the best boyfriend ever, so I won’t complain.”

Will’s smile grew wider until he was beaming. 

Nico stared. “What?” 

“You called me your boyfriend,” Will said happily. 

“Um, yeah,” Nico replied, blushing. “That’s what we are… right?”

“Yeah, I’ve just never heard you say it before.” His voice was soft, filled with so much contentment that Nico wanted to take that voice, wrap it around his body like a blanket, and live there forever. 

“Oh,” Nico said quietly. 

Will shifted in the sand. “Does that mean I can call you cute names now? Like ‘babe’ and ‘sweetie’?”

“Oh. Um. I, uh. I don’t know if I—“

Will laughed again, smaller this time. “I’m kidding, you dork.” Then he pulled Nico down by the front of his shirt and kissed him. 

They had kissed before, but there was something about the sun beating down on his back and the release of all the fear of just a few minutes before that made this kiss electric in an entirely new way. It was hard at first, and a bit awkward from the unexpectedness of it all. 

Will pulled back a bit. “Sorry, was that too much? I don’t want to overstep—“

Then Nico swung his leg over Will and leaned back in with fervor. He turned his head, deepening the kiss, Will’s hand on the back of his neck for support. Nico placed one hand on the ground so he wasn’t putting any pressure on the poorly wrapped wound. He was aware of everything: the sun, the sand, the sweat on his back, the sound of the ocean a few feet away, but mostly Will. His lips, his hands, his body beneath. Nico felt like his entire being was on fire, but he didn’t care. 

“Will? Nico?”

They broke apart, panting slightly. “Guess that’s my rescue team,” Will said with a sad but knowing grin. 

“Guess so,” Nico replied, dazed. 

Will raised an eyebrow. “Probably shouldn’t be straddling me when they get here.”

Nico scrambled off him, and Will laughed again, his face tightening in pain, but still smiling. 

“Hey, your face is super red,” Will pointed out teasingly.

Nico rolled his eyes but felt his face heating up even more. “Guess you didn’t do a good enough job with the sunscreen.”

Will grinned. “Guess not.” 

But Nico knew, he’d gladly get sunburnt again.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Please check out the incredible ART by my friend @metaljupiter!


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